"Some people have said she's a favorite," he tells PopcornBiz. "But she's really up against it."

Don't believe the dancing pro-hype. Gregg cautions that his wife of nine years got her iconic role as Patrick Swayze's dancing partner Baby in "Dirty Dancing" despite not having formal dance training.

"She's not a dancer," says Gregg. "She's a tremendous actress who took some jazz classes and really had to struggle to learn the stuff. And that was 20 years ago."

To boot, Grey will be up against a world of competition in the best season of the celebrity show which brought made weekly celebrity news last season when it enlisted celebrity mother Kate Gosselin last season.

Amazingly, this season looks to be even more potent. Even former "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell was impressed with the signing of iconic David Hasselhoff and his devoted following. "Genius booking," he told Extra.

"I will put money that he will win," Cowell said.

But the competition goes deeper than this. There will also be room for Mama Bears and Tea Party advocates as Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, will also be dancing in the crew as well as "Jersey Shore" stand out Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino.

Normally that would be enough magic for any season. But then add on crooner Michael Bolton, Brandy, Margaret Cho, Rick Fox, Florence Henderson (from the "Brady Brunch"), footballer Kurt Warner and reality show star Audrina Patridge and you have the makings for the best season ever.

Forget that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Sylvester Stallone and Richard Branson have turned down the show in the past. "Dancing With the Stars" has never been on a roll like this and any one of these dancers could capture America's (and the judges') imagination.

So you can understand Gregg's reluctance to have Grey zooming to the top of the expectations board early on. This is going to be a dog-fight to the end.

Further, the actress is coming off a chronic injury, the result of a long-ago car accident. She had it checked out by a neurological spine surgeon who repaired the damage in two neck-fusing operations last year, according to Zaptoit.com.

During the procedure, the doctor found what turned out to be cancerous nodules in her neck which also had to be removed.

Despite it all, Gregg admits he's been impressed with the stuff he's seeing from his wife.

"She can move," he adds. "Man, can she move."

The same can be said of Gregg, who will continue his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson in "Thor," out next spring. We'll also be able to see Coulson in his this continually expanding super hero role in the "Iron Man 2" when the DVD/Blu-ray is released on Sept. 28.